SRIKANTH MOVES INTO ROUND 2, LAKSHYA AND SAINA CRASH OUT

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kidambi Srikanth picked up a hard-fought victory over World number four Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the first round of the Japan Open on Wednesday.

Putting behind his disappointing performance in the World Championship, the Indian put up a brilliant show against the Malaysian to pick up a straight game 22-20, 23-21 win over the Malaysian. This is Srikanth’s first-ever triumph over the Malaysian in four meetings.

Meanwhile, it was the end of the road for the reigning Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen as he went down to Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 21-18, 14-21, 13-21 in a thrilling contest

India’s top medal contender for the tournament could not replicate his excellent form and lost the match in three sets. Sen won the first set but lost his rhythm in the second set, running out of gas in the third one.

Saina Nehwal found a tough draw and was faced with the uphill task of defeating the world champion to advance forward. However, Akane Yamaguchi playing in front of her home crowd was ruthless and knocked Nehwal out 21-9, 21-17.

The ace shuttler was completely dominated by the top seed in the first round, almost scoring points at will. The Indian did show promise in the second set but could not overcome the challenge posed by the Japanese.

Earlier, Prannoy advanced to the next round on Tuesday after his opponent threw in the towel and forfeited the match owing to an injury.